Chapter 3 – It's Personal
"I'm so sorry Puck," Sam said sincerely, "I need to answer this."
"Can't you just wait? We just started talking!" Puck asked, holding both of his hands on Sam's.
"Sorry Puck, it's personal." Sam pulled away and answered the phone. Puck stood up slowly and pulled his clothes on. Once clothed, Puck turned around and saw tears streaming down Sam's face. He immediately stepped over to Sam and tried to embrace him, but Sam pushed him away. Sam hung up with a blubber of words that sounded something to the effect of "I'll be there soon." Sam buried his face into his hands, his elbows resting on his thighs. The muffled sobs echoed throughout the room.
"What's happened? What did Brittany want?" Puck asked, as he knelt down to eye level and pried Sam's hands away from his face gently to be eye level with Sam. Sam looked up, eyes red and watery.
"It's Rory. I'm so sorry I have to go. It's important," Sam said desperately.
"More important than this?" Puck asked gently, placing his hand on Sam's heart.
"Puck!" Sam said, jerking up, "Don't! I have to go!"
"Well then I'll come with you," Puck said matter-of-factly, standing up.
"No. It's personal. You can't." Sam said, moving Puck away from him and grabbing for his clothes.
"Please. Let me," Puck said desperately, reaching for Sam.
"Puck," Sam held Puck's arms firmly, and stared into his eyes, "I can't explain why just yet, but I need to do this alone," Sam let go but Puck held on.
"Fine. Jesus Christ, please be careful driving. I can't lose you," he said weakly. Sam placed one kiss on his forehead and Puck let his arms fall. Sam grabbed for his keys and left the room.
Sam pulled into the driveway of Brittany S. Pearce's home and noticed that her parents were not there, apparently still on their frog hunt in Mexico. He scrambled out of his car and after tripping over a family of lawn gnomes, made it to the top of the porch. After several past attempts to ring Brittany's doorbell only to have her answer the microwave, Sam skipped the formality and pushed the door open. He looked around the empty house and heard a frantic voice coming from upstairs. "Sam? Is that you? I'm in Rory's room! Please hurry!" Sam took the stairs two at a time, and barged into Rory's room. Rory was lying on his bed unconscious, with Brittany fumbling with the phone over his body. "Sam!" Brittany said with a sob.
"What happened, Britt?" Sam asked, his eyes welling up again.
"I heard a thump at the front door, and I didn't pay much attention because I thought it would be the lizard here to steal my bras again, but the lizard usually knocks a few times and there were no more sounds. So I checked and Rory was on the porch, slumped over. Lord Tubbington helped me pull him inside. As we carried him up the stairs, he woke up and said that a guy beat him up for hitting on him. And I can't remember the number for the ambulance," she said in one long breath. Sam pulled the phone out of Brittany's hand and saw the phone wasn't working. Sam thought that if he was to help Rory he needed to calm down, but found it hard due to the excessive blood staining the comforter.
"Where is the bleeding coming from Brittany?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair.
"I don't know, I think it might be his pancreas," she said, pointing at the soaked shirt clinging to Rory's skin. Sam saw a red gash across his left side. He ripped off Rory's shirt and used it to press onto the wound.
"Get my phone out of my pocket and dial 911," Sam said to Brittany. She grabbed his phone and punched in the numbers, "Okay now hand me the phone and press down onto this hard, okay?" Sam thought that it would be best if he was talking to the medical professional. After speaking with the operator, he is placed through to the hospital where they tell him that he's done all he can until the ambulance gets there, but to keep applying pressure on the wound.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the ambulance arrived. The first responders took Sam's place. One of the medics asked Sam what happened, and Sam explained all he knew. He watched silently as the medics strapped Rory onto the stretcher and lifted him into the back of the ambulance. Sam told Brittany to go with them and that he would stay and clean the mess. She handed him the key to the house, and he went back upstairs. He looked at the soaked bed sheets and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. He could only think of how he had let Rory down. He grabbed Rory's sheets and threw them in the washer. He grabbed some cleaning supplies and scrubbed the porch, stairs, and Rory's bedroom floor. He kept telling himself he should have gotten to Rory sooner. If only he hadn't kept his phone on silent, if only he hadn't been with Puck. Once the house seemed to be blood free and tidy, he drove up the road intending to go the hospital, but overwhelmed, he turned off in the direction of Puck's home.